Plant diversity increases with the strength of negative density dependence at the global scale
Joseph A. LaManna, Scott A. Mangan, Alfonso Alonso, Norman Bourg, Warren Y. Brockelman, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, Li-Wan Chang, Jyh-Min Chiang, George B. Chuyong, Keith Clay, Richard Condit, Susan Cordell, Stuart J. Davies, Tucker J. Furniss, Christian P. Giardina, I.A.U. Nimal Gunatilleke, C.V. Savitri Gunatilleke, Fangliang He, Robert W. Howe, Stephen P. Hubbell, Chang-Fu Hsieh, Faith M. Inman-Narahari, David Janik, Daniel J. Johnson, David Kenfack, Lisa Korte, Kamil Kral, Andrew J. Larson, James A. Lutz, Sean M. McMahon, William J. McShea, Herve R. Memiaghe, Anuttara Nathalang, Vojtech Novotny, Perry S. Ong, David A. Orwig, Rebecca Ostertag, Geoffrey G. Parker, Richard P. Phillips, Lawren Sack, I-Fang Sun, J. Sebastian Tello, Duncan W. Thomas, Benjamin L. Turner, Dilys M. Vela Diaz, Tomas Vrska, George D. Weiblen, Amy Wolf, Sandra Yap, Jonathan A. Myers
2017, Science (356) 1389-1392
Theory predicts that higher biodiversity in the tropics is maintained by specialized interactions among plants and their natural enemies that result in conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD). By using more than 3000 species and nearly 2.4 million trees across 24 forest plots worldwide, we show that global patterns in tree...
Species’ traits help predict small mammal responses to habitat homogenization by an invasive grass
Joseph P. Ceradini, Anna D. Chalfoun
2017, Ecological Applications (27) 1451-1465
Invasive plants can negatively affect native species, however, the strength, direction, and shape of responses may vary depending on the type of habitat alteration and the natural history of native species. To prioritize conservation of vulnerable species, it is therefore critical to effectively predict species’ responses to invasive plants, which...
Downscaling wind and wavefields for 21st century coastal flood hazard projections in a region of complex terrain
Andrea C. O'Neill, Li H. Erikson, Patrick L. Barnard
2017, Earth and Space Science (4) 314-334
While global climate models (GCMs) provide useful projections of near-surface wind vectors into the 21st century, resolution is not sufficient enough for use in regional wave modeling. Statistically downscaled GCM projections from Multivariate Adaptive Constructed Analogues provide daily averaged near-surface winds at an appropriate spatial resolution for wave modeling within...
Habitat associations of juvenile Burbot in a tributary of the Kootenai River
Zachary S. Beard, Michael C. Quist, Ryan S. Hardy, Tyler J. Ross
2017, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (146) 1008-1015
Burbot Lota lota in the lower Kootenai River, Idaho, have been the focus of extensive conservation efforts, particularly conservation aquaculture. One of the primary management strategies has been the release of Burbot into small tributaries in the Kootenai River basin, such as Deep Creek. Since 2012, approximately 12,000 juvenile Burbot have been...
Spatiotemporal analysis of changes in lode mining claims around the McDermitt Caldera, northern Nevada and southern Oregon
Joshua A. Coyan, Michael L. Zientek, Mark J. Mihalasky
2017, Natural Resources Research (26) 319-337
Resource managers and agencies involved with planning for future federal land needs are required to complete an assessment of and forecast for future land use every ten years. Predicting mining activities on federal lands is difficult as current regulations do not require disclosure of exploration results. In these cases, historic...
Geomagnetically induced currents: Science, engineering, and applications readiness
Antti Pulkkinen, E. Bernabeu, A. Thomson, A. Viljanen, R. Pirjola, D. Boteler, J. Eichner, P.J. Cilliers, D. Welling, N.P. Savani, R.S. Weigel, Jeffrey J. Love, Christopher Balch, C.M. Ngwira, G. Crowley, Adam Schultz, R. Kataoka, B. Anderson, D. Fugate, J.J. Simpson, M. MacAlester
2017, Space Weather (15) 828-856
This paper is the primary deliverable of the very first NASA Living With a Star Institute Working Group, Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) Working Group. The paper provides a broad overview of the current status and future challenges pertaining to the science, engineering, and applications of the GIC problem. Science is...
Morphological and molecular characterization of Sarcocystis arctica-like sarcocysts from the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) from Alaska, USA
Camila K. Cerqueira-Cezar, Peter C. Thompson, Shiv K. Verma, Joseph Mowery, Rafael Calero-Bernal, Fernando H. Antunes Murata, David R. Sinnett, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Benjamin M. Rosenthal, Jitender P. Dubey
2017, Parasitology Research (116) 1871-1878
The muscles of herbivores commonly harbor sarcocysts of parasites belonging to species in the genus Sarcocystis, but such muscle parasites are rare in carnivores. Here, we report Sarcocystis arctica-like sarcocysts in muscles of Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) from Alaska, USA, for the first time. The tongues of...
10Be dating of late Pleistocene megafloods and Cordilleran Ice Sheet retreat in the northwestern United States
Andrea M. Balbas, Aaron M. Barth, Peter U. Clark, Jorie Clark, Marc A. Caffee, Jim E. O'Connor, Victor R. Baker, Kevin Konrad, Bruce Bjornstad
2017, Geology (45) 583-586
During the late Pleistocene, multiple floods from drainage of glacial Lake Missoula further eroded a vast anastomosing network of bedrock channels, coulees, and cataracts, forming the Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington State (United States). However, the timing and exact pathways of these Missoula floods remain poorly constrained, thereby limiting our...
A proposal for amending administrative law to facilitate adaptive management
Robin K. Craig, J.B. Ruhl, Ellie Brown, Byron K. Williams
2017, Environmental Research Letters (12) 1-17
In this article we examine how federal agencies use adaptive management. In order for federal agencies to implement adaptive management more successfully, administrative law must adapt to adaptive management, and we propose changes in administrative law that will help to steer the current process out of a dead end. Adaptive...
Heat as a groundwater tracer in shallow and deep heterogeneous media: Analytical solution, spreadsheet tool, and field applications
Barret L. Kurylyk, Dylan J. Irvine, Sean K. Carey, Martin A. Briggs, Dale D. Werkema, Mariah Bonham
2017, Hydrological Processes (31) 2648-2661
Groundwater flow advects heat, and thus, the deviation of subsurface temperatures from an expected conduction‐dominated regime can be analysed to estimate vertical water fluxes. A number of analytical approaches have been proposed for using heat as a groundwater tracer, and these have typically assumed a homogeneous medium. However, heterogeneous thermal...
How can climate change and engineered water conveyance affect sediment dynamics in the San Francisco Bay-Delta system?
Fernanda Achete, Mick Van der Wegen, Jan Adriaan Roelvink, Bruce E. Jaffe
2017, Climatic Change (142) 375-389
Suspended sediment concentration is an important estuarine health indicator. Estuarine ecosystems rely on the maintenance of habitat conditions, which are changing due to direct human impact and climate change. This study aims to evaluate the impact of climate change relative to engineering measures on estuarine fine sediment dynamics and sediment...
Yellowstone grizzly bears: Ecology and conservation of an icon of wildness
P.J. White, Kerry A. Gunther, Frank T. van Manen, editor(s)
2017, Book
No abstract available....
Land before water: The relative temporal sequence of human alteration of freshwater ecosystems in the conterminous United States
Ellen Wohl, Katherine B. Lininger, Jill Baron
2017, Anthropocene (18) 27-46
Human alteration of ecosystems prior to Euro-American contact in the area that became the conterminous United States disproportionately affected terrestrial systems compared to freshwater ecosystems, primarily through the use of fire and agriculture in some regions of the United States. After circa 1600 AD, trapping of beaver, along with intensive modification of rivers and...
Response of deep groundwater to land use change in desert basins of the Trans-Pecos region, Texas, USA: Effects on infiltration, recharge, and nitrogen fluxes
Wendy Marie Robertson, J.K. Bohlke, John M. Sharp
2017, Hydrological Processes (31) 2349-2364
Quantifying the effects of anthropogenic processes on groundwater in arid regions can be complicated by thick unsaturated zones with long transit times. Human activities can alter water and nutrient fluxes, but their impact on groundwater is not always clear. This study of basins in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas links...
Two-step adaptive management for choosing between two management actions
Alana L. Moore, Leila Walker, Michael C. Runge, Eve McDonald-Madden, Michael A McCarthy
2017, Ecological Applications (27) 1210-1222
Adaptive management is widely advocated to improve environmental management. Derivations of optimal strategies for adaptive management, however, tend to be case specific and time consuming. In contrast, managers might seek relatively simple guidance, such as insight into when a new potential management action should be considered, and how much effort...
Active tectonics of the northern Mojave Desert: The 2017 Desert Symposium field trip road log
David M. Miller, R.E. Reynolds, Geoffrey Phelps, Jeffrey S. Honke, Andrew J. Cyr, David C. Buesch, Kevin M. Schmidt, G. Losson
2017, Conference Paper, ECSZ Does It: Revisiting the Eastern California Shear Zone
The 2017 Desert Symposium field trip will highlight recent work by the U.S. Geological Survey geologists and geophysicists, who have been mapping young sediment and geomorphology associated with active tectonic features in the least well-known part of the eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ). This area, stretching from Barstow eastward in...
Estimating incision healing rate for surgically implanted acoustic transmitters from recaptured fish
Abby Schoonyan, Richard T. Kraus, Matthew D. Faust, Christopher Vandergoot, Steven J. Cooke, H. Andrew Cook, Todd A. Hayden, Charles C. Krueger
2017, Animal Biotelemetry (5)
Background Intracoelomic implantation of electronic tags has become a common method in fishery research, but rarely are fish examined by scientists after release to understand the extent that surgical incisions have healed. Walleye (Sander vitreus) are a valuable, highly exploited fishery resource in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Here, fishery capture...
Tracking the fate of nitrate through pulse-flow wetlands: A mesocosm scale 15N enrichment tracer study
Tiffany L. Messer, Michael R. Burchell, J.K. Bohlke, Craig R. Tobias
2017, Ecological Engineering (106) 597-608
Quantitative information about the fate of applied nitrate (NO3-N) in pulse-flow constructed wetlands is essential for designing wetland treatment systems and assessing their nitrogen removal services for agricultural and stormwater applications. Although many studies have documented NO3-N losses in wetlands, controlled experiments indicating the relative importance of different processes and...
Life history attributes of Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus) and comparisons with other North American subspecies
Janet M. Ruth
2017, The American Midland Naturalist (178) 64-81
Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus—commonly referred to as the Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow—occurs in the desert and plains grasslands of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Sonora, Mexico. Although a subspecies of conservation concern, this is the first intensive study of its life history and breeding ecology, providing baseline data and facilitating comparisons...
Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Pannonian Basin Province, Hungary, 2016
Christopher J. Schenk, Timothy R. Klett, Phuong A. Le, Michael E. Brownfield, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3033
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 119 million barrels of oil and 944 billion cubic feet of gas in the Hungarian part of the Pannonian Basin Province....
Grand challenges for integrated USGS science — A workshop report
Karen E. Jenni, Martin B. Goldhaber, Julio L. Betancourt, Jill S. Baron, Sky Bristol, Mary Cantrill, Paul E. Exter, Michael J. Focazio, John W. Haines, Lauren E. Hay, Leslie Hsu, Victor F. Labson, Kevin D. Lafferty, K. A. Ludwig, Paul C. D. Milly, Toni L. Morelli, Suzette A. Morman, Nedal T. Nassar, Timothy R. Newman, Andrea C. Ostroff, Jordan S. Read, Sasha C. Reed, Carl D. Shapiro, Richard A. Smith, Ward E. Sanford, Terry L. Sohl, Edward G. Stets, Adam J. Terando, Donald E. Tillitt, Michael A. Tischler, Patricia L. Toccalino, David J. Wald, Mark P. Waldrop, Anne Wein, Jake F. Weltzin, Christian E. Zimmerman
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1076
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of advancing the traditional Earth science disciplines and identifying opportunities to integrate USGS science across disciplines to address complex societal problems. The USGS science strategy for 2007–2017 laid out key challenges in disciplinary and interdisciplinary arenas, culminating in a call...
Historical Topographic Map Collection bookmark
Kristin A. Fishburn, Gregory J. Allord
2017, General Information Product 179
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Geospatial Program is scanning published USGS 1:250,000-scale and larger topographic maps printed between 1884, the inception of the topographic mapping program, and 2006. The goal of this project, which began publishing the historical scanned maps in 2011, is to provide a digital repository of...
Developing a landscape‐scale, multi‐species, and cost‐efficient conservation strategy for imperilled aquatic species in the Upper Tennessee River Basin, USA
David R. Smith, Robert S. Butler, Jess W Jones, Catherine M Gatenby, Roberta Hylton, Mary Parkin, Cindy Schulz
2017, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (27) 1224-1239
Strategic conservation of imperilled species faces several major challenges including uncertainty in species response to management actions, budgetary constraints that limit options, and the need to scale expected conservation benefits from local to landscape levels and from single to multiple species.A structured decision‐making process was applied to address these...
A new species of iguana Brachylophus Cuvier 1829 (Sauria: Iguania: Iguanidae) from Gau Island, Fiji Islands
Robert N. Fisher, Jone Niukula, Dick Watling, Peter S. Harlow
2017, Zootaxa (4273) 407-422
The south Pacific iguanas (Brachylophus) currently have three recognized living species in Fiji. Recent surveys have uncovered more specific variation (morphological and genetic) within the genus and have better defined the geographic ranges of the named species. One of these recent discoveries is a strikingly different iguana from all other...
On the probability distribution of daily streamflow in the United States
Annalise G. Blum, Stacey A. Archfield, Richard M. Vogel
2017, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (21) 3093-3103
Daily streamflows are often represented by flow duration curves (FDCs), which illustrate the frequency with which flows are equaled or exceeded. FDCs have had broad applications across both operational and research hydrology for decades; however, modeling FDCs has proven elusive. Daily streamflow is a complex time series with flow values...
